This book tells the full story of the Kashmir shawl, how it migrated to Europe in the 1800s and how the key pattern of the boteh evolved. With its beginnings under the Mughal emperors in Kashmir, the industry continued under Afghan rule, with an explosion of new designs during the Sikh period, until it fell into decline under the rule of the Dogra Rajahs. Frank Ames, a textile dealer himself, stresses the importance of the French connection in the nineteenth century and the cross-fertilisation of ideas engendered by the strong demands of European fashion whose love of the Oriental produced the rival Jacquard shawl. Changing fashions at the end of that century saw the demise of the shawl. The shawls are classified by stylistic period and an illustrated guide is included in the book to show the chronological development of designs. This will help the collector to date shawls more accurately as the boteh changes from a recognisable flower blossom to an abstract symbol. After an earlier career in electronic engineering, when Frank Ames worked on NASA's lunar space project, a rapid shift in events enabled him to pursue his long-held passion for rare and decorative textiles. In Paris in 1972 he established himself as an active dealer in the art of textiles from around the world and was instrumental in creating specialised sales of entire collections.